Nostalgia Nook—Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Remember TGIF? ABC’s block of family programming that aired from 8PM to 10PM every Friday, to be followed by Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters on 20/20. I grew up with TGIF. From “Full House” to “Family Matters” to “Step by Step” and beyond. Then the lineup became “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Boy Meets World,” “You Wish,” and “Teen Angel.” (Note, these didn’t all debut in the same season. “Boy Meets World” and “Sabrina” predated the other two). We’re going to talk about the lead-in.

Double, double, toil and SPOILERS!

“Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” tells the story of a girl (Melissa Joan Hart) who discovers she has magical powers on her 16th birthday. She has to deal with new powers and a new school as she’s now living with her aunts, Zelda (Beth Broderick) and Hilda (Caroline Rhea). On her first day she befriends Jenny (Michelle Beaudoin), shows herself to be excellent in science, forms a crush on football player Harvey (Nate Richert) and makes an enemy of popular cheerleader Libby (Jenna Leigh Green). She slowly discovers magic and, of course, messes up.

Things changed in the second series. Jenny was suddenly gone to be replaced with the neurotic Val (Lindsay Sloane). The sympathetic science teacher and vice principal were gone. In their place, we had Martin Mull as a vice principal clearly aligned with Libby. Sabrina had more conflict than ever, including having to earn her witch’s license. Things continued along as Sabrina graduated and went to college. More and more original cast members disappeared, until it was only Melissa Joan Hart.

In my opinion, season 1 was the best season of the show. It contains the most memorable episodes. Like the episode regarding a class trip to Salem, MA. It was also an interesting way to teach about being true to oneself. In the episode, everyone is assigned a role to play in Salem. The teacher tells them that some are townsfolk but some are witches. They aren’t to tell each other, though. Eventually, Libby accuses Sabrina and Jenny of being a witch. At trial, Sabrina confesses and then makes Libby look like a loon. When the trip is over, it is revealed that they were all townspeople—they had created the witches.

Another memorable storyline involved Sabrina deciding that life had gotten a little boring—even with her brand new powers. So she opens a can of worms. And the writers had fun mocking every soap cliché—both daytime and primetime—possible. The sexy nurse. The love triangle. The mysterious stranger. Pretty people wearing pretty clothes. Cheesy lines. The whole works. When the storyline was resolved, Sabrina realized that boredom isn’t always a bad thing.

I also remember an episode where Libby fell to pieces and Sabrina had to put her together again like a jigsaw puzzle. She was missing one piece—Libby’s heart. So she had to search Libby’s room for where the piece was. And she finds it behind a picture of Libby’s grandmother. Sabrina learned that even bullies love people.

A plot I’m surprised they dropped was Sabrina’s apparent aptitude and love for science. Especially since at the time the show was airing, it was the start of a major push to get more girls interested in math and science. Suddenly, the plot was dropped and Sabrina was more interested in English and journalism. I guess having her write for a newspaper/magazine was a way to get celebrities on. But it wasn’t a problem before—they were witches. They could just zap a celebrity cameo up.

Another thing about Sabrina…There was a movie. It aired on TV, during the Magical World of Disney. I’m not sure if it was meant to air before the show and was just pushed back, because it had little to do with the series. Melissa Joan Hart and a few minor characters were the only familiar faces. The tones were different as well. The movie was a bit darker, meant more for teens. I have a feeling were I to watch it now, I’d probably like it. Back then, it was okay. I was more upset with how little it had to do with the show, though.

Melissa Joan Hart will always be Clarissa to me. That’s why I started to watch “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” But it stood on it’s own. And it has a place in my nostalgia.

Next month: Animorphs